Indefinitely Definite
by RandomEternally
Summary: It is difficult to know at what moment love begins; it is less difficult to know that it has begun. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1. Teddy the Great

"I brought you some cake." he held out his hand to prove his offering to her, but the young Victoire just huffed and turned her head away from him, her hair falling into a curtain between them.

"It's chocolate," he added hopefully, "you're favourite." Her resolve broke just a little as she peeked from the corner of her eye. No nine year-old girl in the history of nine year-old girls had ever been as stubborn as Victoire Weasley could be. Two years ago Louis had snapped her levitating fairy wings and she had refused to leave her bedroom or eat until she had received a full written apology from him, and of course, new fairy wings. Louis was three at the time and couldn't yet write more than his own name, and even that was a stretch. After five hours her father had apparated to Andromeda Tonks' house to ask if he could borrow her grandson. This wasn't a rare occurrence and by the time Bill had finished explaining what was wrong this time, Teddy had his travelling cloak on and had his hand out ready. Almost as quickly, Teddy had convinced Victoire that levitating fairy wings weren't that great anyway, and building a fortress from her bed sheets and eating chicken sandwiches and cookies before reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard by candle light was much more fun in the long run. A lot of boys would have seen coaxing sulking girls into talking again as a near on impossible chore, but Teddy was secretly happy every time he heard the tell tale pop of Bill Weasley's arrival. He liked that he was the only one who could make Victoire anywhere near happy when she was really sad. And although he had tried his hardest, Bill had had to get used the fact that he wasn't the only man in his oldest daughter's life or necessarily even the main one, a lot sooner that most fathers did.

Currently both of the children were sitting under a big, old, hollow bush in Teddy's grandmother's garden - it was their very own, secret place. Teddy reached out and took the two periwinkle ribbons that had previously held Victoire's shiny hair in two long, neat plaits, which she was currently picking threads from the ends of, and replaced it with the napkin wrapped cake. Teddy took her letting him do this as a good sign. He leaned out and pulled back the curtain of golden hair between them, using one of the ribbons to tie it at the nape of Victoire's neck with the silky ribbon. He knew she liked it when he played with her hair, although he tried to refrain from such un-manly activities as much as possible. He was rewarded with this show of affection - Victoire unwrapped the yellow napkin and tore it down the fold, she then preceded to split her slice of cake in half as well and hand one half of it back to Teddy.

"What's wrong Vic?" she kept her eyes down and sucked some chocolate frosting from her finger, "Come on, tell me who's upset you and I'll beat them up for you." he nudged her with his elbow and received a small, sad smile in return.

"Why do you have to go?" Teddy lowered the cake that was already halfway to his mouth.

"Everyone goes to Hogwarts, Vic." for that he got a scowl.

"But why now? What am I -" she dropped her head down and he heard a distinctive sniff. Teddy gave her an awkward pat on the back.

"You're going to go and learn all the magic and have a wand and everything and you'll have loads of cool new friends and be all grown up and everything and you won't want to play with me anymore." she looked up at him for reassurance.

"Don't be silly Vic, you know that you'll always be my favourite girl in the whole entire world." he flicked at a loose strand of her hair. Most eleven year old boys would be mortified about saying the last sentence but Teddy had been saying it for as long as he could remember, and he meant it, and only Vic was here, so why should he be embarrassed?

"What am I supposed to do when you go?

"We can write - I'll write you every day if you want me to!" she raised a juvenile eyebrow in response.

"Every day?"

"Yep! I promise and I'll even send you a Gryffindor Quidditch team flag from the first match of the season!" Teddy nodded earnestly as Victoire looked as though she was attempting to work out a particularly hard sum, "And I mean, I know that I don't for sure that I'll be in Gryffindor but my dad was and so was Harry, and although my mum was in Hufflepuff, I think that I still want to be in Gryffindor. Don't you think that Gryffindor's the best Vic?" Victoire just continued to stare at him. Teddy prodded his previously forgotten cake, until it was almost squashed flat. "It will be alright, won't it, Vic?"

Victoire was nine years old and her best friend was going away from her for the first time, and she was worried and scared. Teddy was leaving his best friend and his family, and going away to school by himself, and he was also worried and scared. Victoire had thought that he would be having fun all the time and was just excited, but now she was staring to see that he was just as worried about leaving than she was about being left. She was thoughtful for a second or two, then very unceremoniously pushed her piece of un-squashed cake into Teddy's mouth, and threw her arms around his neck.

"Your going to be great, Teddy."

And that was exactly what worried her - Teddy was always great, anyone that couldn't see that was an idiot. Everyone would want to be Teddy's friend, and in two years time, when she would finally go to Hogwarts as well, he would have so many friends, that were older and cooler that her, he wouldn't want to spend time with her anymore.

At the tender age of nine that was the worst thought in the world.


	2. Favour for a Friend

**_This is the next chapter, set a few years after the first. This is also a response to the MY FIRST KISS challenge, set by thenewkait, on HPFC._**

**/**

"So, what did you drag me away from treacle tart and ice-cream for?" Victoire knew for a fact that Teddy had indeed already eaten a slice and a half of tart and three scoops of ice-cream, because she had sat and waited for him to eat it, so she didn't feel too guilty.

"Well, I was wondering-"

"It always scares me when you start off like that…" Victoire smacked him on the arm and he cringed away from her, laughing. She tried to pretend not to notice Teddy's face sober as his gaze flicked to two sixth years they were passing. She'd noticed him giving every boy that came within a ten foot radius of her threatening looks - although she couldn't see why anybody would be particularly scared of Teddy - at the beginning of the year. She sped up her pace because Teddy was still staring out a boy in her Herbology class - who she was pretty sure was gay.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you would do me a little favour?" Teddy hated the way that they-she couldn't even walk down a corridor without half a dozen adolescent idiots leering a her. Victoire rolled her eyes at a scowling Teddy, who obviously wasn't listening to her, and shoved him into the next empty classroom. He caught himself on a desk and turned, still scowling, with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What kind of favour? Because I don't care how much chocolate or Butterbeer you buy me, I am not sending Delilah Brown flowers again, or complimenting her to _improve her self-confidence. _She sent me pictures of kittens in little hearts for a month last time!"

"She's just misunderstood!" Teddy laughed incredulously.

"Voldermort was misunderstood - Delilah is just plain crazy!"

"She's not crazy, and besides, it doesn't have anything to do with her." That was when Victoire's voice started faltering and she got Teddy's attention really.

"Then what do you want?"

"Well, you see, we - the girls in my dormitory and I - were talking about Abigail's birthday and were going to have a girly night. You know - make-up, hair, chocolate, and then we were going to go into Hogsmeade, because it's on Saturday, and maybe go to Madame Puddifoot's and The Three Broomsticks." Teddy look confused and ever so slightly suspicious. "It's what they did when it was Liz's birthday, only I didn't end up going because I was in the Hospital Wing, with you. Do you remember - it was the time that your broom went funky or something and you ended up flying into the stands, and only just missed me?" Teddy remembered - it was the day that Samuel Smith - a snotty nosed Hufflepuff - had tried to put his hand up Victoire's skirt (Teddy had tried getting her to wear trousers, or shorts underneath, or even perhaps a different skirt that went below her knees). Smith had ended up in the Hospital Wing that night as well - he unfortunately had fallen down the back of the stands when Teddy had _lost_ control of his broom.

"I promise to try not to end up in the Hospital Wing this time."

"No, that's not what I want. I mean, not that I want you to have to go to the Hospital wing - it's just, that wasn't what I wanted to ask you." Teddy noticed Victoire twisting her fingers in and out of each other - this was her tell-tale sign when she was nervous.

"Then what do you want, Vic?" Teddy un-crossed his arms and put them either side of him to rest on the desk. Victoire started pacing up and down the back of the classroom.

"They were telling me about this game that they played on Liz's birthday, that's apparently really fun, but, well from what I could gather, in one section of the game, some of the players may end up having to kiss someone." Teddy raised his eyebrows as Victoire gave him a quick sideways glance, before continuing to pace. He wasn't sure where she was going with this, but so far he wasn't liking it. "And during the last game Lauren had to kiss someone, only she'd never done it before and apparently it all went horribly wrong - something to do with chewing gum or something like that - and the boy that she had been kissing laughed at her! And then the other girls started talking about their first kisses, and most of them said that they were terrible and that now they didn't talk to or particularly like whoever had been their first kiss. And I don't really want to kiss anyone and I hope I don't have to, and I especially don't want it to be my… you know….and in front of everyone, but I really want to go this time, so I sort of have to play and so…yeah…" She stopped at the back of the room across from Teddy, who was just looking at her.

"Vic, I don't understand."

"Well I'm not completely sure about all the rules of the game but I think-"

"Not about the game - the part where this has something to do with me?" Victoire bit her lip.

"Oh, that part…"

"Yes, that part." Victoire turned away from Teddy and went to begin to start walking again.

"Please do not start pacing again - it makes my neck ache, watching you."

"Sorry." she stood with her back against the far wall and started twisting her fingers together again, not looking at Teddy. "it's just that I always wanted - thought that my…the first time I…you know…."

"Your first kiss?" Victoire glance up for a millisecond and blushed furiously.

"Yeah - that. I thought it would be with someone special, or at least someone that I like and after listening to them I'm not so sure that I like anyone that much and so, I was thinking, that maybe, that's where you come in."

"Where _I_ come in?"

"Not if you don't want to - I'd understand if you didn't, you know, so don't worry about it or anything."

"Don't want to what? I still don't understand?"

"I - " Victoire's voice-box seemed to stop working then, because her lips were still moving, forming the shape of words but no sound came out. She then resorted to biting her lip so hard that Teddy started to worry that she was going to split it, and then she started talking again, all I a rush, "It doesn't matter - it was a stupid idea anyway. Just forget about. I should go." She picked up her bag and attempted to make a hurried exit before Teddy's brain had deduced what she had said.

"Vic, wait!" he crossed the space between them in a couple of strides and caught her by the arm. She stopped but didn't turn to look at him. "It's me - just tell me. What do you want me to do?" Victoire couldn't believe what she was about to ask him. It was _Teddy, _but then wasn't the reason she was asking him in the first place because he _was _Teddy? And plus, she had to say something because he hadn't loosened his grip on her even a little. It was now or never, as they say. "Kiss me."

As soon as she said she wished that she hadn't. She did feel strangely, somehow lighter, probably because she would now know whether it was ever going to happen. Whether she was ever going to kiss Teddy Lupin more than just a peck on the cheek - not that she liked him _liked him_, in that way. At least she didn't think she did. She couldn't - it was Teddy. Her best friend, Teddy, and she had just asked him to kiss her. Yes, she definitely wished that she hadn't done that.

Although neither of them had moved they were suddenly standing extremely close to one another. Sometimes, when they were little, in the summer they would sleep outside in the muggle pop-up tent that Victoire's Granddad Arthur had given them. He was so pleased that they both like it so much he had gotten them each their own muggle sleeping bag as well. Teddy's was blue and Victoire's was pink. She'd never really like the colour pink but that was mostly an excuse - she just didn't like being in it alone. She'd start the night of there but by the time the moon was high in the sky she'd be in with Teddy. Neither of them had ever noticed how near to each other they were before. Teddy still hadn't said anything, so Victoire counted to ten, then took a deep breath and turned to look at him. He still hadn't let go of her. As she looked up she noticed Teddy's hair wasn't brown anymore. He usually kept it looking as normal as possible but sometimes when he wasn't concentrating or distracted it would change involuntarily. It had turned a dark inky blue and she was sure that his eyes had gotten darker as well. It made him look very pale. Or maybe he had just gone very pale.

"_What_?" Teddy's voice came out cracked and off pitch, so he cleared his throat and tried again, "What?"

"Nothing." She wiggled her arm and he finally let go.

"You want me to _kiss _you?"

"No. Yes. I don't know." she glanced towards the door and considered making a run for it, and finding a nice dark cave to hide in for a few years.

"_What do you mean you don't know? You asked me to kiss you!_" Teddy hadn't sounded that high pitched since before his voice had broken.

"I know - I just, I figured that well, you're my best friend, we're definitely always going to be friends, so I could never regret it being you. But, like I said, it was a silly thought, just forget that I ever said anything. Please." Victoire found herself unable to look him in the eye after she'd told him all that. She let her hair fall over her face to make it easier not to look at him, but Teddy reached a hand up and pushed it back again.

"You really think of me like that?" That wasn't what Victoire had expected and she looked up reflexively.

"Yeah, of course I do." Teddy twirled a strand of Victoire's hair in between his thumb and forefinger. He used to do this a lot when they were children - he was always fascinated at how she could have gold _and _silver, that caught the light like real gold and silver, in their hair. He'd tried countless times to change his hair to the colour of Victoire's - just to see if he could - but he could never manage quite her colour. He couldn't remember the last time he'd played with Victoire's hair. He missed it.

"If we do this, then you aren't then just going to kiss random boys, are you? Because if you are, then I'm not going to help."

"You mean you'll do it?" Victoire's cringed at the hopefulness in her own voice.

"Answer the question."

"Of course I'm not going to kiss random boys! What kind of girl do you think I am? Don't you know me at all?" Teddy smiled at her and tucked her hair behind her ear again.

"Just checking. So… is this a real - kiss or…." Victoire bit her lip and just looked at him. He answered his own question, "Of course it is - it wouldn't be such a big deal if it wasn't a proper kiss." Teddy strode across the room, letting out a long breath as he did so, them strode back across to stand himself in front of Victoire. She was a head shorter than he was - he'd shot up in the last year - before that, they'd been about the same height. He had been grateful for the growth spurt (and so was she), she'd always been tall and willowy, but he didn't like not being taller than her. He liked the height difference better now, but it wasn't very practical for what they were about to do.

Victoire had gone very stiff and suddenly had a very dry mouth. She licked her lips and Teddy told himself that he didn't find that anymore interesting than he should. He was just doing a favour for his friend. She was standing with both hands at her side and was fiddling with a pleat in her skirt. Teddy gently pulled her hands away from her sides and held one in each of his. He took a few steps back, pulling her with him, until the he bumped into the desk behind him. He perched himself on the edge, making him roughly the same level as Victoire. She swallowed so loudly that she was sure that he'd heard it. Victoire wondered what an earth she had been thinking; if she felt like this now, then how was she going to feel afterwards? Deep down she hadn't really expected him to do it. But as he guided her closer to him, it was obvious that he was going to do it - even if it was just as a favour for a friend.

Victoire was now standing in between Teddy's legs. She took a shaky breath and tried not to giggle. Teddy felt strangely calm, even though his left hand shook slightly as he slid it under Victoire's hair and cupped her cheek. He kept hold of her hand with his right one, which she was grateful for. Whenever she was nervous or scared, she would always hold Teddy's hand and she would always feel better.

Victoire was so busy thinking about all the other times that Teddy had held her hand to make her feel better, that she didn't see him lean in and close the small space between them. He simply pressed his lips against hers softly. At first she was too stunned to do anything - _what was she doing? She didn't know how to kiss! She didn't know what she was supposed to do! _Teddy, however, was always one for doing a job properly, and was therefore determined to give Victoire a good first kiss. So, he pulled her head closer and pressed his lips against hers more firmly. She put her free hand on his chest and Teddy thought she was going to push him away. But she did the opposite. Her hand closed around his open shirt collar and she tilted her head, pressing her lips tighter against his.

Teddy's brain was working overtime; she said that she wanted a proper kiss. He gradually slid his tongue out and drew it cautiously along her bottom lip, and without any hesitation Victoire opened her mouth. She tasted like apples. The pink ones. Teddy opened his eyes and saw the freckles on her nose first, then the tiny scar underneath her right eye, from where she'd fallen on the beach outside Shell Cottage, and hit her face on a rock. He'd been chasing her and thought it had been his fault, he had been so worried when he saw the blood. He didn't stop worrying until her mother had told Victoire, in no uncertain terms, that she did 'not need to wear an eye patch, like those zilly muggle pirates!'. Victoire wanted an eye patch. He was kissing the little girl who'd been his best friend for as long as he could remember and it felt…not wrong.

Victoire had decided that kissing came naturally (at least with Teddy) and pulled him closer, to deepen the kiss. She was now so flush to his front that he was half holding her up. Teddy closed his eyes again and slid the hand he was holding hers with around her waist. Her hand went to his hair. Victoire wondered vaguely why she'd never thought of doing this before.

At the same that time she made a small, involuntary sound from the base off her throat the school bell rang, signalling the end off lunch, making them both jump. Teddy leapt off of the desk, almost knocking Victoire over as he did so. He now had no clue what to do with his hands, while Victoire just stood still again, sucking her bottom lip (the lip Teddy had licked).Teddy cleared his throat a few times - more times than necessary.

"So - there you go! That…that was kissing! I hope that it was satisfactory…" he said, swinging his arms. Victoire nodded.

"Erm, yeah, thanks - very…satisfactory."

"Good! Well, we should probably go to class." He picked up Victoire's bag, slung it over his shoulder and almost ran for the door.

"Err, Ted-"

"Yes, and we probably shouldn't tell anyone about - that," he waved his finger between the two of them, "or you know, talk about it."

"Oh, okay. I was just going to tell you that you had the wrong bag." Teddy's hair turned scarlet as he swapped bags with her, and for the first time in years, Victoire's could see the concentration on his face as he turned it back to the light brown he usually had it.

At the age of fifteen, Victoire Weasley came to the decision of what she was sure was the best feeling in the world.

Kissing Teddy Lupin.

_**/**_

_**So, what did you think? Virtual cookies for everyone that reviews! And btw this is the first kiss that I've ever written, so I would really appreciate some feedback on that. Thanks for reading! (And remember - virtual cookies are just as good as non-virtual cookies, but without the calories!)**_


	3. Jack The Lad

Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop had gone through a few transformations over the years, and apart from an unfortunate brief spell in the 1860's, it had always been owned by a female member of the Puddifoot family. They had all stamped their own personal style on the place; it had been a traditional Victorian tea room, complete with pinafore adorned waitresses and spindly-legged furniture, then it had been given an art deco make-over, and in the sixties it had been a kaleidoscope of bright colours, and you couldn't move for beaded curtains. The last dress it had worn was a chintzy-lace-pink assault of cheesiness and cheeriness. But, a few years ago the most recently deceased Madam Puddifoot's great-niece had taken over and given it a modern edge, that fortunately, and unlike it's predecessor, reminded not one person of what one would imagine it would look like if a cherub and a unicorn mated, and then the result of all that loveliness then threw-up over a tea-room. It was unfortunately, however still the same size as it had always been, which was so small it could hardly be considered a size at all.

"Here you are." A waitress wearing a polka-dotted apron and a friendly smile said, as she laid a mint green box, tied up with a bright orange ribbon on the chunky wooden table, in-between Victoire Weasley and Lauren Anderson. "Can I get you two anything else?" Victoire shook her head and Lauren answered.

"No, thank you. We need to be going soon." Lauren fixed her dark brown eyes, pointedly on Victoire, as she said the last sentence. The waitress, still smiling, looked between the two girls.

"Okay, that'll be two galleons, nine sickles and five knuts then, please." Victoire handed over three galleons and watched as the waitress sidled off through the throng of customers, to retrieve their change. Lauren was tapping the spoon from her frothy coffee on the table as Victoire turned her attention to two warlocks, who were talking animatedly, and had just ordered one bright blue tea and a murky green coloured one. She was so engrossed in the colours of these strange drinks that she almost fell from her chair when Lauren dropped her spoon noisily into her cup, gave a frustrated grunt, and threw her head back, making her curly hair flail dramatically.

"Are you planning on telling me what's going on at all, or are you just seeing how long it takes for you to drive me completely crazy?" Apparently that was a rhetorical question, because without waiting for an answer, Lauren launched onwards. "We have to be in The Leaky Cauldron in ten minutes, and all I've gotten out of you in the last hour, is that it's something to do with Teddy Lupin - and let's be honest - when isn't it? Oh, and that you're confused! Which again - what's new?" Lauren finished, crossing her arms and sat looking at Victoire, with her eyebrows raised and an expectant look on her face.

"I kissed him." That was the first time Victoire had said it out loud, in front of someone - she'd said it to herself plenty of times when she'd been alone. She suddenly knew that every person in the over-stuffed the tea shop had heard her and knew exactly what she was talking about. She wished she could melt into her chair, for some reason she was deadly embarrassed.

"Oh My Giddy Aunt!" Lauren squealed.

"Sshhh!" Victoire's attempt to quiet Lauren was in vain.

"I knew it! I just _knew _it! It's like, against nature, or something, for two people that pretty not to get it on! Now that really would be for the greater good!" Victoire fought the urge to hit Lauren to make her shut up, but settled for waving her hand aggressively at her instead.

"_Shut up_!" Lauren ignored her.

"I bet he's a good kisser - I bet he's excellent actually," he was, but that wasn't the point at that moment, "-and gentle. But passionate - definitely passionate. Oh! You have got to tell me everything! Every detail!"

"We've got to be at The Leaky Cauldron in seven minutes." Victoire said, checking her watch.

"Oh sod that!" Lauren waved a hand airily, "This is much more important."

"It's Abigail's sixteenth birthday!" Victoire exclaimed.

"Sorry I took so long, here's your change." It was the friendly waitress, returning with a little stack of silver sickles and bronze knuts. Victoire took the change with a smile and picked up the green box of goodies from the table.

"Come on." Lauren picked up her bag and scrambled out of her chair to follow Victoire.

"You can tell me on the way then!" Victoire rolled her eyes as she dropped a few coins in the tip jar, and exited the warm shop into the chilly air of Hogsmeade. She was regretting ever saying anything.

/

"Oi, Teddy!" Jack Hanson shouted across the crowded bar and waved his friend over, "Got you a Butterbeer, mate."

"Thanks." Teddy unwound his scarf and undid his coat, settling himself on the empty barstool next to Jack. He took a big gulp of his hot Butterbeer, as he watched Jack grin and wink at a group of sixth year girls. One of the girls turned an alarming shade of red and the rest of her companions began giggling uncontrollably. Jack was what Teddy supposed his grandmother would call a 'lady's man' - he seemed to have a different girlfriend every week, but always stayed friends with his previous conquests, and Teddy had no idea how he managed it. Or how he hadn't run out of girls yet. Teddy was brought back from his musings by an extremely loud wolf-whistle next to his ear. Teddy looked to see who had entered the pub and the object of Jack's affection.

He turned just in time to catch Lauren Anderson, one of Victoire's friend, theatrically blowing a kiss to Jack, and Victoire standing next to her, looking at him. When he caught her gaze she ducked her head, looking across at him from underneath her eyelashes, and raised a hand to half wave at him. He waved back - using the hand he was holding his Butterbeer in, sloshing it over the sides and onto his shoes. Victoire laughed, and noticing, Lauren whispered something to her. Teddy couldn't tell what she'd said but whatever it was, it made Victoire tinge pink and shove Lauren harder than was completely friendly towards an already half full table in the corner. Teddy took another mouthful of his drink and tried telling himself that it was that that was the cause of the bubbly feeling in his stomach.

"So, Victoire…" Jack stated, in a careful tone.

"What about her?" Teddy asked a bit too quickly.

"She's pretty." he stated, causing Teddy to choke just a little.

"_You _think so?" Teddy asked in between coughs.

"Well yeah! Saying Victoire Weasley isn't pretty would be like saying that grass isn't green, or that Filch's only great love isn't that creepy stuffed cat he keeps in his office!" Under usual circumstances Teddy would have found the last comment rather amusing, but he was currently preoccupied with the news that _Jack Hanson _had apparently set his sights on Victoire. Jack blued-eyed-blonde-haired-angelic-looking-no-girl-could-resist Hanson. "Don't you think so?" Jack eyed Teddy cautiously over his glass.

"I don't think about Victoire like that." he answered dully. Jack raised his eyebrows.

"If you say so…" Teddy was about to protest when Jack continued, "Then you wouldn't mind if I asked her out then?"

"Mind? Why would I mind?" Teddy stuttered.

"I was just checking." Jack replied simply. The two boys were quiet for a while, as they sipped their drinks and both watched a certain strawberry-blonde chatting with her friends. After a few minutes Teddy sat up and turned to Jack.

"You know that she's only fifteen, don't you?"

"Yeah, but she'll be sixteen this year."

"Not until March, though." And that was a whole four and a half months away. Jack smiled.

"And I'm not eighteen until June, so we're good, aren't we?" Jack said, like that settled things.

"I suppose so." Teddy tried to keep his voice from sounding so disgruntled.

"Unless you'd rather I didn't date Vic?"

"I told you; it's got nothing to do with me who _Victoire_ dates."

/

Teddy knew that Jack was a fast worker, but he thought the time that it had taken him to use the little boy's room was fast, even for Jack. He'd come back from the bathroom and been confronted with the sight of Jack leaning one arm casually on the bar and using one finger from his other hand to wipe a piece of yellow icing, from one of Abigail's birthday cupcakes, from Victoire's cheek. Which then, he actually, sucked from his finger. It might have just been him, but Victoire looked uncomfortable. He watched them chatting, Jack smiling charmingly, until the barmaid came over with a tray of Butterbeers. Victoire looked like she politely excused herself and took the drinks back to her table of friends.

"I think she likes me." Jack told Teddy as they both stood watching Victoire again.

"You think everyone likes you."

"Well, can I help it if I have striking good looks?" Jack turned to face Teddy, arching his eyebrows and pouting. "Anyway, she was nice and friendly when I was talking to her then."

"Victoire's a friendly person, and she's nice to everyone." Teddy explained.

"It sounds like you're trying to put me off…" Jack grumbled.

/

"Was Jack Hanson just chatting you up?"

"No - he was just being nice." Victoire reasoned to the three girls, who were all wearing identical looks of disbelief.

"Oh, Vicki, Vicki, Vicki - everyone knows that when Jack Hanson is nice to a girl, he may as well be saying, 'Hi, can I see what colour your knickers are?'." All of them laughed at Liz, apart from Victoire, who blanched pink.

"It never rains but it pours…" Lauren piped in.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Abigail and Liz looked equally confused, because neither of them knew about Teddy and Victoire's little moment yet.

"Nothing." Victoire told them, before Lauren could say anything more, which was lucky, as they were just about to be interrupted by the subject of their conversation.

"Hello ladies, could I steal the lovely Victoire here, away from you?"

"You do know that it's _my _birthday, don't you?" Abigail hinted. Jack didn't get it.

"Happy birthday." he wished her, and led Victoire away from the little table.

/

Teddy could hardly believe it! A nice smile and a few carefully chosen words, and Victoire was leaving the pub with Jack with nothing more than a glance and a wave in his direction. He tried making conversation with a few people, but found his heart just wasn't in it. After a few attempts he gave up, and after reapplying his scarf and coat, left The Leaky Cauldron to make his was through Hogsmeade high street, and back to the castle.

He was about halfway through the village when a flash of gold, from one of the side streets, caught his eye. He back tracked and saw that the flash of gold was Victoire's hair. She was standing underneath one of the largely spaced street lamps, talking with a man, who Teddy originally thought was Jack. It was when the man grabbed Victoire's wrist, that Teddy realised it wasn't.

/

Jack had said that he wouldn't be long. He had said that he just needed to have a quick word with the young man that had shouted after them from the side street where Madam Puddifoot's was located, and that she should wait for him. She had been window shopping in front of a little antique shop, when a Slytherin boy, from Teddy's year had whistled at her. At first she'd thought that it was Jack again. He'd tried to get a kiss from her and hadn't taken too kindly when she'd declined. She was fumbling for her wand, which was in her bag because she hadn't thought that she'd need it, when the Slytherin was thrown against the brick wall behind him, and then dragged back to his feet. She'd never seen Teddy that angry before.

"Teddy!" Victoire screamed, as Teddy raised his wand to the boy's throat, looking murderous. Victoire ran to his side and tried to pull his wand arm down.

"Let go, Vic." Victoire ignored him and continued pulling at his arm.

"Victoire! Teddy? What's going on?" It was Jack, running down from the other end of the little street. He immediately assisted Victoire in pulling Teddy away from the Slytherin, which had a much greater affect than Victoire alone had. The Slytherin disappeared as soon as he was free of Teddy's hands. Unfortunately, Teddy then busied his hands with the act of shoving Jack against the opposite wall.

"What were you thinking?" Teddy hollered, "You can't leave her alone!"

"I'm not a child Teddy!" Victoire protested. Teddy ignored her and carried on shouting.

"Anything could have happened! What do you think you were doing?"

"I'm sorry! I know - it was stupid. I don't know what I was thinking - I wasn't." Teddy looked a little satiated that Jack wasn't denying that he was at fault. Victoire however looked a bit angry.

"You do both realise that I am here, and that I'm perfectly capable of being left alone for five minutes?"

"A lot can happen in five minutes, Vic."

"I could have handled it."

"Yeah, it looked like you was handling it." Teddy retorted.

"If you'd have just given me a second to-"

"To do what, Vic? To let him grab you some more? Then what? How long would you have liked me to stand there and watch some slimy git molest you?" Teddy turned back to Jack, "And where were you, anyway?" If they weren't in half darkness, Teddy could have sworn Jack paled.

"Nowhere. Look, mate, I'm sorry - it won't happen again."

"You'd better hope that it doesn't, Jack." Teddy looked a lot calmer, but Victoire shook her head and moved in between both of them.

"You know what, I'll make it easier for both of you;" she turned towards Jack and tossed the scarf he'd given her because she'd been cold, back at him, "it definitely won't be happening again. Ever." And she marched back to the castle in such a temper, that by the time she'd reached the double doors to the entrance hall, she wasn't cold in the least, anymore. In fact, she was burning hot.

The most frustrating thing in the world to Victoire Weasley was that no one (especially one person in particular) could seem to see that she was growing up.

To Jack Hanson it was having to pretend he was something he so very obviously wasn't.

To Lauren Anderson it was being told not to tell.

And to Teddy Lupin the most frustrating thing in the world was simply the constant frustration.

Sorry this took so long - I had a very bad beginning to last week and when I tried to put it up Friday my internet just would not connect. And then I almost didn't have a laptop because I almost threw it across the room, so I had to eat lots of chocolate to cheer me up again, which took some time as well. But anyway, that was it - what are your thoughts? The first two chapters were just Teddy and Vic, so how are we liking the other characters? I'd also be interested to know if anyone has any theories about what's going to happen - what Jack has to pretend for - will Lauren spill the beans - will my internet ever let me upload this chapter so you can answer these questions?


	4. Silent Night

**A/N: It's been a while! A very long while indeed! But it's a new year, a new start and new resolutions! One of my resolutions is to finish what I start. So, here's the fourth chapter (finally) – let's get this baby finished!**

Teddy had reached overload point. He just could not take it any longer. Mrs Weasley and his Grandmother had past the point of no return from being more than a little bit tipsy, and were both lamenting the apparently untimely death of Celestina Warbeck by doing their best to out-screech the tenth re-run of her Christmas specials, that were being played on WWN, while crying and sloshing Firewhisky all over the living room every time there was a particularly high note. They'd moved on to the hard stuff about an hour before, when they'd run out of everything else.

As well as what Teddy could only compare to the sound of wailing banshees, there was several games of exploding snap, wizard's chess, and exploding-chess-snap, which was a trickily difficult combination of the two going on. And if you added to all of that a dramatically animated conversation about Quidditch and the racket that James' new owl was making as it notified them all of it's dismay at being locked in a cage, you had quite a few decibels on your ears. And Teddy's ears had had enough.

He'd managed to block most of it out while he was staring at Victoire, sending her telepathic messages that he had been punished enough and it was time to talk to him again. He had to give it to her though, she had definitely improved her willpower - the longest she had managed to not talk to him before had been thirty-two hours, and the first and last eight hours she had been asleep. This time she had managed just over two weeks. He didn't like it.

It was when Victoire had retreated upstairs that Teddy had given up on the warm and noisy interior of The Burrow and had himself retreated to the cold, dark and frosty, but quiet outside of the garden.

He hadn't been out their long when he heard the door open. His heart jumped involuntarily and he tried to hide his disappointment when he saw that is was only his godfather.

"Don't look too pleased to see me, whatever you do." Harry joked.

"Sorry." Teddy mumbled, as Harry made his way across the garden, to join Teddy on the small, stone wall that he was sitting on. They both were silent as they watched a group of gnomes bludgeoning Mr Weasley's collection of brightly coloured muggle garden gnomes.

"So, what did you do then?" Harry asked, as the gnomes waved a snapped, ceramic fishing rod, triumphantly in the air.

"What?"

"To offend Victoire so badly?" Harry explained like it the most obvious thing.

"How did you know?"

"Because I'm extremely observant, and finely attuned to the workings of the teenage girl's brain." Teddy just raised his eyebrows skeptically as this. "Oh, alright - Ginny had a word with me." Teddy smiled.

"I was just trying to look after her and she started shouting about how she wasn't a child. And she's refused to speak to me for longer than one word sentences since then."

"Were you _just _trying to look after her, or were you being overly protective?" Harry asked carefully.

"I - she - it was just- I can't help it. She's just so…." Teddy trailed off.

"She's growing up Ted, and you've got to let her."

"I know but… things were just so much easier when we were kids." For some reason this made Harry laugh.

"Welcome to the confusing world of adult emotions." Teddy was about to inform Harry that he did not have adult emotions involving Victoire, when the door creaked open again.

"Oh- Harry," Victoire stopped in mid-step, "I didn't know you were out here."

"I was just going back in actually. I should probably make sure that James and Al don't try to blow the house up with exploding snap cards!" Neither Teddy, or Victoire caught Harry's joke, so he headed back to the house.

"Don't be too hard on him." He told Victoire as he walked past. She nodded and made her way over to Teddy, who wasn't looking at her. She let her gaze follow his and saw what he was watching - the pesky garden gnomes were attempting to hang, draw and quarter one of the poor, brightly painted, muggle things.

"Remind me not to get on the wrong side of them." She commented, trying to break the ice.

"I'd take them over you, any day." Teddy replied, then he saw Victoire's face and started backtracking, "No, Vic, I didn't mean - I meant that I'd rather have them angry with me than have you angry with me. I hate having you angry at me." he admitted.

"And I hate being angry with you, really. But you have to understand why I was so mad? You've got to realise that-"

"You're growing up. That you're not a little girl anymore." Victoire was sure that Teddy had no idea how much him saying that meant to her, the fact that he saw that she was growing up - how him realising that made her feel.

"Yes," she nodded fervently, "yes, exactly!"

"But you've got to realise, Vic, that to me, you will always be the little girl, whose hand I held when you were scared of the dark, and made me play with fairy wings, and who was obsessed with Babbity Rabbity." Victoire's heart sunk. Actually 'sunk' felt like an understatement. It felt more like it had hit an iceberg, been sucked down a whirlpool, and crash landed on a bed of nails.

If asked officially, Victoire would tell you that she had never given much thought to Teddy in a romantic sense. She would tell you that yes, he was quite good looking, and he was funny, and she loved him more than she could possibly imagine loving any other boy, but that was because he was her friend. Her best friend. She would tell you that it was hard to explain properly, but to her it was the most natural and simple thing in the world. He was Teddy and he was a part of her life that was just there. Always there. It could be likened to how, when you're a child, you don't really see your parents as proper people; they're Mum and Dad, and they're there and that's just the way it is. That's how it was with Teddy - he wasn't a person, he wasn't a boy, he was just Teddy. She would tell you adamantly that that was how it was supposed to be and would always be.

Until the 3rd of December, 2014.

As of the 3rd of December, 2014, Victoire was confused. Because that was the day that Teddy had kissed her - even if it was only because she had asked him to. That was the day that he had stopped being just Teddy, and became a boy, who was funny and good looking and was always there, and who she just happened to love quite a bit.

That was when she had started wondering if she looked alright in the morning because she was going to see Teddy, and not just because she wanted to look alright. That was when she'd started wanting him to notice her, the way that she was noticing him, and if he'd felt the same unbelievable combination and rush of feelings and emotions when they'd kissed.

Now she knew - no he didn't. He didn't notice or feel any of those things. He still thought she was a little girl.

/

That was a lie. He surprised himself at how good a liar he was. He supposed it was because he was used to it - he'd had lot's of practice after all. _'Vic's like a sister to me…I'm just trying to look after her…I don't look at her like that…You'll always be a little girl to me…' _Who was he kidding?

She wasn't looking at him, but away from him. The night wasn't dark, and the sky held a sort of glow. The light, glowing, dark, when the sky is full of white snow. As he watched her; the way stray pieces of her hair ruffled in the wind, the way she held her shoulders, the way her nose curved upwards ever so slightly at the end, a single snowflake floated down and landed on her bottom lip.

He knew he shouldn't have done it. He knew before he'd done it that he shouldn't. But he did - he couldn't not. And now, more than ever, as she licked the melted snowflake from her lip, he wanted to do it again. And he shouldn't. He shouldn't want to do that, and he definitely shouldn't want to do the other things he thought or dreamt about doing with her, to her. She turned back to face him, looking up through her eyelashes, just like she always did.

"This is for you." she held a parchment envelope with little silver snowflakes on, out to him. He took it, brushing her fingers as he did. "Merry Christmas."

"I didn't think that I'd be getting anything this year." he only half joked.

"I got it for you before you got psychotically over-protective of me."

"Oh," Teddy slid a finger underneath the envelope flap and opened it, pulling out what was inside. He absent mindedly let the snowflake covered envelope fall into the wet snow, reading and re-reading the contents.

"Well say something then." Victoire asked, twisting her fingers together again.

"Vic, this is... " he finished by waving a hand.

"Do you like it? Do you think it's a good idea? If you don't then it's fine - I could-" she was cut off by Teddy swigging an arm around, forgetting about his previous worries and pulling Victoire into a hug.

"I love it. I think it's a wonderful idea - you're wonderful." he mumbled the last two words into her hair, but she heard him all the same. Victoire had missed this Teddy - the Teddy she wasn't afraid to touch, the Teddy that didn't awkwardly excuse himself at odd moments, and the Teddy that didn't overreact to things.

"I thought you might think that I was being clingy..." she admitted, clinging to him. He laughed.

"You are clingy! And so am I, and as long as we're both as clingy as each other, then I think that's okay." He folded the booking receipt for a room in the Three Broomsticks, for a weekend, in a year's time.

"I just wanted to make sure that when you leave we don't not see each other ever. That you actually come to see me, while I'm still stuck in school." Victoire tried not to sound too whiny. She didn't succeed.

"Hey," he leaned back so that he could see her face, "of course I'll come and see you, and you've still got me for another whole six months before the end of school."

"Have I - got you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Teddy took a deep breath and let go of her, picking up the now soggy envelope and putting it in his pocket.

"We should go back in, this snow's getting worse."

Victoire let him lead her to the back door but she wanted to argue. She wanted to make him answer the question. She wanted him to admit that he knew she wasn't a child anymore and she certainly wasn't just his friend. She wanted him to tell her why she was so confused as to what exactly had changed between them - because something definitely had.


End file.
